Audio Object Location in a Computerized Wagering Game

ABSTRACT

A computerized wagering game system has a gaming module comprising a processor and gaming code which is operable when executed on the processor to conduct a wagering game on which monetary value can be wagered. An audio module comprising part of the computerized wagering game system is operable to play sound through two or more speakers, and is further operable to apply audio object location processing to the sound so that it appears to come from a specific location.

RELATED APPLICATION

This application claims the priority benefit of U.S. ProvisionalApplication Ser. No. 60/614,922, filed 30 Sep. 2004, the contents ofwhich are incorporated herein by reference.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The invention relates generally to audio in wagering gaming systems, andmore specifically to audio object location in a computerized wageringgame system.

LIMITED COPYRIGHT WAIVER

A portion of the disclosure of this patent document contains material towhich the claim of copyright protection is made. The copyright owner hasno objection to the facsimile reproduction by any person of the patentdocument or the patent disclosure, as it appears in the U.S. Patent andTrademark Office file or records, but reserves all other rightswhatsoever.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

A wide variety of gaming devices are now available to gamers and tocasino operators in computerized form, from slot machines to games thatare traditionally played live such as poker and blackjack. Thesecomputerized games provide many benefits to the game owner and to thegambler, including greater reliability than can be achieved with amechanical game or human dealer, more variety, sound, and animation inpresentation of a game, and a lower overall cost of production andmanagement.

Computerized video game systems must be designed with many of the sameconcerns as their mechanical and table game ancestors—they must be fair,they must provide sufficient feedback to the gamer to make the game funto play, and they must meet a variety of gaming regulations to ensurethat both the machine owner and gamer are honest and fairly treated inimplementing the game. Further, they must provide a gaming experiencethat is at least as attractive as the older mechanical gaming machineexperience to the gamer, to ensure success in a competitive gamingmarket.

Many computerized wagering game systems have a variety of sound andgraphical elements designed to attract and keep a game player'sattention, such as sound effects, music, and animation. These gamepresentation features often include a variety of music, sound effects,and voices presented to complement a video presentation of the wageringgame on a display.

Wagering game players typically stand or sit on one side of a wageringgame, and interact with the game such as by pushing buttons, pullinglevers, and operating a touchscreen. The wagering game system in turnprovides feedback to the game player via the display and one or morespeakers. Use of multiple speakers in some wagering games allow playbackof stereo audio in which each of the two stereo audio channels plays adifferent signal.

In some wagering game machines, sound is played in conjunction with avideo object's motion or presentation, such as a sound accompanying reelspin in a reel slot machine, or credit bang-up sounds played as creditsare counted up in a game player's credit counter. Such sounds can helpcall the game player's attention to the screen and can audibly indicatethe occurrence of particular events, enhancing presentation of the gameto the wagering game player.

But, some sounds can become repetitive and lose meaning to a gameplayer, and a game player may not associate a certain sound with aparticular game element or activity as is desired by the wagering gamedesigners. It is therefore desirable to more strongly associate soundspresented in a wagering game system with their associated wagering gameobjects.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention provides in one embodiment a computerized wageringgame system has a gaming module comprising a processor and, gaming codewhich is operable when executed on the processor to play a wagering gameon which monetary value can be wagered. An audio module comprising partof the computerized wagering game system is operable to play soundthrough two or more speakers, and is further operable to apply audioobject location processing to the sound so that it appears to come froma specific location.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

FIG. 1 shows a computerized reel slot gaming system operable to play asound processed with audio object location processing, consistent withan example embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a top view display diagram of a software application tofacilitate audio object location specification, consistent with anexample embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a side view display diagram of a software application tofacilitate audio object location specification, consistent with anexample embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a wagering game system employing a surround sound speakersystem and audio object location processing, consistent with an exampleembodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a diagram of a head and torso model as is used to derive ahead-related transfer function in some example embodiments of thepresent invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

In the following detailed description of sample embodiments of theinvention, reference is made to the accompanying drawings which form apart hereof, and in which is shown by way of illustration specificsample embodiments in which the invention may be practiced. Theseembodiments are described in sufficient detail to enable those skilledin the art to practice the invention, and it is to be understood thatother embodiments may be utilized and that logical, mechanical,electrical, and other changes may be made without departing from thespirit or scope of the present invention. The following detaileddescription is, therefore, not to be taken in a limiting sense, and thescope of the invention is defined only by the appended claims.

The present invention provides in one embodiment a computerized wageringgame system having a gaming module comprising a processor and gamingcode which is operable when executed on the processor to present orconduct a wagering game on which monetary value can be wagered. An audiomodule comprising part of the computerized wagering game system isoperable to play sound through two or more speakers, and is furtheroperable to apply audio object location processing to the sound so thatit appears to come from a specific location.

FIG. 1 illustrates a computerized wagering game machine, as may be usedin an embodiment of the present invention. The computerized gamingsystem shown generally at 100 is a video wagering game system, whichdisplays information for at least one wagering game upon which monetaryvalue can be wagered on video display 101. Video display 101 is invarious embodiments a CRT display, an LCD display, a surface conductingelectron emitter display, or any other type of display suitable fordisplaying electronically provided display information. Alternateembodiments of the invention will have other game indicators, such asmechanical reels instead of the video graphics reels shown at 102 thatcomprise a part of a video slot machine wagering game.

A game of chance is implemented as software within the wagering game,such as via instructions stored on a machine-readable medium such as ahard disk drive or nonvolatile memory. In some further exampleembodiments, some or all of the software stored in the wagering gamemachine is encrypted or is verified using a hash algorithm or encryptionalgorithm to ensure its authenticity and to verify that it has not beenaltered. The game of chance takes various forms in different wageringgame machines, and includes such well-known wagering games as reelslots, video poker, blackjack, craps, roulette, or hold'em games. Thewagering game is played and controlled with inputs such as variousbuttons 103 or via a touchscreen overlay to video screen 101. In somealternate examples, other devices such as pull arm 104 used to initiatereel spin in this reel slot machine example are employed to provideother input interfaces to the game player.

Monetary value is typically wagered on the outcome of the games, such aswith tokens, coins, bills, or cards that hold monetary value. Thewagered value is conveyed to the machine through a changer 105 or asecure user identification module interface 106, and winnings arereturned via the returned value card or through the coin tray 107. Soundis also provided through speakers 108. In some further embodiments, thewagering game machine is coupled to a network, and is operable to useits network connection to receive wagering game data, track players andmonetary value associated with a player, and to perform other suchfunctions.

The wagering game in one example embodiment of the present inventionuses audio object location processing applied to sound played throughspeakers 108 to make it sound to a game player as though the sound werecoming from a specific location. In some embodiments, the location isbased on the screen location of an object associated with the sound,while in some other embodiments the specific location is selected toprovide a broader soundstage of sounds or for special effects purposes.

The sounds are processed in one embodiment by application of what isknown as a head-related transfer function to the sounds that areintended to sound as though they come from specified directions orlocations. The head related transfer function, or HTRF, is derived fromthe way a listener's head, ear, and torso affect the sound that iseventually heard. These head, ear, and torso effects are largelyresponsible for the listener's ability to determine the direction fromwhich a sound is coming, and can be characterized and applied to soundsto make them sound as though they are coming from directions other thantheir true source.

The head-related transfer function is determined such as by use ofpreexisting models, or by measuring a dummy head designed to mimic theacoustic behavior of a human head. This function is then applied to asound signal by use of filters such as digital signal processing filtersthat shape the frequency response of the sound signal before the signalis routed to a speaker and converted to an acoustic or audible soundsignal. The game player then hears a filtered version of the soundhaving frequency response filtering applied such that the sound appearsto come from a location specific to the applied filtering process.

FIG. 2 illustrates one method of applying such filter processing to asound to make it appear to a game player as though it comes from aspecified direction. A screen diagram is shown generally at 201 of acomputer program designed to allow a game's creator to specify theapparent position of sound in a horizontal plane relative to a gameplayer 202. The screen shot shows a sequence of positions such as 203,each of which are connected and have various attributes that can bespecified. In one example, the sound starts at position 203, andprogresses second by second to the other positions shown in FIG. 2. Timein between seconds is interpolated, such that motion of the sound issmooth and appears to follow the approximate paths shown in FIG. 2linking points rather than jumping second-by-second. In otherembodiments, the period of time and the change between positions isfurther customizable or can be specified in other ways, such as byspecifying the amount of time a sound takes to travel from one specifiedposition to the next or the amount of time a sound spends stationary atone point before proceeding on.

In some embodiments, the elevation of the sound is a parameter that canbe set along with other parameters for a particular point such as point203 of FIG. 2, while other systems will use other methods of furtherspecifying position such as the screen diagram of FIG. 3. The screenshot 301 shown generally in FIG. 3 shows a top view of a computerprogram screen designed to allow a game creator to specify a sound'slocation in a vertical plane, along with various points such as point303 corresponding to the points such as 203 of FIG. 2. This alternateview enables visualization and configuration of the apparent elevationor height of a sound relative to the head of a listener 302, enabling acreator to fully visualize the position of a sound at a given time whenviewed in conjunction with the position view of FIG. 2.

In some embodiments of the invention, the specified sound location isachieved not only with a head-related transfer function, but by using amutichannel speaker system, or what is commonly known as a surroundsound system. Such a system is shown in FIG. 4, adapted to thetwo-speaker wagering game system shown in FIG. 1. The speakers 108 ofFIG. 1 are replaced with left, center, and right channel speakers 401,402, and 403. Additional surround channel speakers are added, includingleft rear channel speaker 404 and right rear channel speaker 405. Theuse of multiple speakers means that less head-related transfer functionprocessing is needed to make sound come from a certain direction orelevation. In some example embodiments, simply directing sound to theappropriate speakers can in a surround sound system having three or morespeakers located in different positions such as are shown in FIG. 4 cancreate the illusion of a sound being placed in a specific location, andthe audio processing involves specifying which speakers are to play asound, what volume each speaker is to play the sound, or the like.

Sound having more than the traditional two stereo channels can beencoded and decoded in many ways, including a few example commercialembodiments discussed here in greater detail (all names are trademarkedproperty of their respective owners). Examples include Dolby formatssuch as Dolby ProLogic and Dolby Digital, Logic 7, and variousembodiments of DTS such as DTS-ES and DTS-NEO6.

Dolby ProLogic was one of the first commercially available surroundsound formats, and enabled analog derivation of a center channel and twosurround channels from a two-channel encoded signal. Dolby Digital is adigitally encoded format, providing for encoding and decoding of fivefull-range channels and a low frequency channel (5.1 channels) from anencoded digital signal.

Similarly, a variety of digital surround sound formats from DTS,including DTS, DTS-ES, and DTS-NEO6 derive five or six channels plus alow frequency effects channel from a digitally encoded signal. DTS is afive channel discrete encoded signal that also has an encoded lowfrequency effects channel. DTS-ES adds a sixth channel, plus the abilityto matrix encode a 5.1 channel surround signal in addition to discretechannel encoding. DTS-NEO6 is a six channel matrix encoded format,incorporating a low-frequency effects channel to provide a 6.1 channelmatrix encoded digital surround format.

Logic 7, also known as L7, is a proprietary seven-channel decodingprocess developed by Lexicon, a subsidiary of Harman International.Logic 7 in various embodiments is able to derive seven channel surroundsound from a two channel stereo or matrix encoded source, and hasvarious parameters optimized for film, broadcast, reverberantenvironment, and other modes. It is further able to derive up to sevenchannels of surround information from other surround encoded formats,including matrix and discrete multichannel surround formats such asDolby Digital or DTS.

The Logic 7, Dolby Digital, DTS, and other surround sound formatspresented here are examples of ways in which various audio processingcan be applied to implement different surround sound formats in an audiosystem having three or more discrete audio channels and speakers.

Systems employing only two speakers will in many embodiments rely onimplementation of a head-related transfer function (HRTF) as describedearlier to provide the audio object location function that causes anaudible sound to sound to a game player like it's coming from a specificlocation. FIG. 5 shows a typical example of a dummy head as is oftenused to derive a head-related transfer function.

The head and torso 501 are a three-dimensional model of a human head andtorso, made with materials having acoustic absorptive and reflectiveproperties similar to that of an actual human. The head and torso 501are also typically clothed with a shirt work on the torso, to reflectthe damping effect that audio striking the clothed areas of a realperson who is clothed would experience. The ears of the head and torsomodel similarly are designed to reflect a typical human ear, except thatthey contain microphones 502 that are coupled to measurement equipment.The head and torso of FIG. 5 is further mounted on a turntable apparatus503 that is operable to turn the head and torso assembly duringmeasurement, so that a sound source at a particular elevation can bemeasured from a variety of angles relative to the head in a horizontalplane.

Measurements are typically conducted in an anechoic chamber to minimizethe effects of reflected and reverberation of sound. Characterization ofa head-related transfer function in three dimensions will typicallyinvolve placing a sound source at various heights and various distancesfrom the head and torso assembly 501, and rotating the head and torsoassembly about a complete rotation while taking measurements for eachsound source position. The resulting changes in frequency responseobserved characterize the head-related transfer function, and can beapplied to sounds reproduced through speakers to make the sounds appearto come from specific locations other than the speaker or speakersplaying the sound.

The examples shown herein have illustrated how audio processing can beemployed in a wagering game system to apply audio object locationprocessing to sound so that the sound appears to come from a specificlocation. Although specific embodiments have been illustrated anddescribed herein, it will be appreciated by those of ordinary skill inthe art that any arrangement which is calculated to achieve the samepurpose may be substituted for the specific embodiments shown. Thisapplication is intended to cover any adaptations or variations of theinvention. It is intended that this invention be limited only by theclaims, and the full scope of equivalents thereof.

1. A computerized wagering game system, comprising: a gaming modulecomprising a processor and gaming code which is operable when executedon the processor to present a wagering game on which monetary value canbe wagered; an audio module operable to play sound through two or morespeakers, and further operable to apply audio object location processingto the sound so that it appears to come from a specific location.
 2. Thecomputerized wagering game system of claim 1, wherein the audio moduleis further operable to apply crosstalk cancellation to the sound.
 3. Thecomputerized wagering game system of claim 1, wherein the audio objectlocation comprises application of a head-related transfer function(HRTF).
 4. The computerized wagering game system of claim 3, whereinapplication of the head-related transfer function is operable to changethe perceived elevation of a sound.
 5. The computerized wagering gamesystem of claim 1, wherein the two or more speakers comprise a surroundsound speaker configuration.
 6. The computerized wagering game system ofclaim 1, wherein the specific audio location the sound appears to comefrom moves during presentation of the sound.
 7. The computerizedwagering game system of claim 1, wherein the specific location fromwhich the sound appears to come is determined by receiving video objectlocation data from a video module, and applying the video objectlocation to an associated audio sound via the audio object locationprocessing.
 8. The computerized wagering game system of claim 1, whereinthe audio object location processing is applied based on object locationdata provided to the audio module and associated with a particularsound.
 9. The computerized wagering game system of claim 1, wherein theaudio object location processing comprises panning an object between twoor more speakers of a surround sound speaker system comprising three ormore independent sound channels and associated speakers.
 10. Thecomputerized wagering game of claim 1, wherein the audio object locationprocessing further comprises encoding the audio in at least one of DolbyDigital, DTS, Qsound, CircleSurround, or Logic
 7. 11. A method ofoperating a computerized wagering game system, comprising: presenting awagering game on which monetary value can be wagered; applying audioobject location processing to the sound so that it appears to come froma specific location; and playing the sound through two or more speakers.12. The method of claim 11, further comprising applying crosstalkcancellation to the sound.
 13. The method of claim 11, wherein the audioobject location comprises application of a head-related transferfunction (HRTF).
 14. The method of claim 13, wherein application of thehead-related transfer function is operable to change the perceivedelevation of a sound.
 15. The method of claim 11, wherein the two ormore speakers comprise a surround sound speaker configuration.
 16. Themethod of claim 11, wherein the specific audio location the soundappears to come from moves during presentation of the sound.
 17. Themethod of claim 11, wherein the specific location from which the soundappears to come is determined by receiving video object location datafrom a video module, and applying the video object location to anassociated audio sound via the audio object location processing.
 18. Themethod of claim 11, wherein the audio object location processing isapplied based on object location data provided to the audio module andassociated with a particular sound.
 19. The method of claim 11, whereinthe audio object location processing comprises panning an object betweentwo or more speakers of a surround sound speaker system comprising threeor more independent sound channels and associated speakers.
 20. Amachine-readable medium with instructions coded thereon, theinstructions when executed operable to cause a computerized wageringgame system operable to: present a wagering game on which monetary valuecan be wagered; apply audio object location processing to the sound sothat it appears to come from a specific location; and play the soundthrough two or more speakers.
 21. The machine-readable medium of claim20, the instructions when executed further operable to cause thecomputerized wagering game system to apply crosstalk cancellation to thesound.
 22. The machine-readable medium of claim 20, wherein the audioobject location comprises application of a head-related transferfunction (HRTF).
 23. The machine-readable medium of claim 22, whereinapplication of the head-related transfer function is operable to changethe perceived elevation of a sound.
 24. The machine-readable medium ofclaim 20, wherein the two or more speakers comprise a surround soundspeaker configuration.
 25. The machine-readable medium of claim 20,wherein the specific audio location the sound appears to come from movesduring presentation of the sound.
 26. The machine-readable medium ofclaim 20, wherein the specific location from which the sound appears tocome is determined by receiving video object location data from a videomodule, and applying the video object location to an associated audiosound via the audio object location processing.
 27. The machine-readablemedium of claim 20, wherein the audio object location processing isapplied based on object location data provided to the audio module andassociated with a particular sound.
 28. The machine-readable medium ofclaim 20, wherein the audio object location processing comprises panningan object between two or more speakers of a surround sound speakersystem comprising three or more independent sound channels andassociated speakers.
 29. A computerized wagering game system,comprising: a gaming module comprising a processor and gaming code whichis operable when executed on the processor to present a wagering game onwhich monetary value can be wagered; and an audio module operable toplay sound through two or more speakers, the sound comprising objectlocation information such that it appears to come from a specificlocation.
 30. The computerized wagering game system of claim 29, whereinthe object location information comprises application of crosstalkcancellation to the sound.
 31. The computerized wagering game system ofclaim 29, wherein the object location information comprises applicationof a head-related transfer function (HRTF) to the sound.
 32. Thecomputerized wagering game system of claim 31, wherein application ofthe head-related transfer function is operable to change the perceivedelevation of a sound.
 33. The computerized wagering game system of claim29, wherein the two or more speakers comprise a surround sound speakerconfiguration.
 34. The computerized wagering game system of claim 29,wherein the specific location from which the sound appears to come isdetermined by receiving video object location data from a video module,and applying the video object location to an associated audio sound viathe audio object location processing.
 35. The computerized wagering gamesystem of claim 29, wherein the audio object location information isbased on object location data provided to the audio module andassociated with a particular sound.
 36. The computerized wagering gamesystem of claim 29, wherein the audio object location informationcomprises panning an object between two or more speakers of a surroundsound speaker system comprising three or more independent sound channelsand associated speakers.
 37. The computerized wagering game of claim 29,wherein the audio object location information comprises audioinformation decoded via at least one of Dolby Digital, DTS, Qsound,CircleSurround, or Logic 7.